Knowing the amount of water your sprinkler system applies to your landscape is an important step in efficient water use. Most people irrigate their landscape for a given number of minutes without knowing how much water they are really applying. This may lead to over- or under-watering.
This describes the evenness of an irrigation application across a landscaped area that is typically made up of turf grass. Poor (low) DU in turf zones is common, resulting in significantly reduced overall system efficiency and causing large quantities of wasted water. DU can be expressed as a percentage or decimal value.
This section will demonstrate how to collect the data needed to calculate DU.
This app contains the tools needed to calculate the Distribution Uniformity and Irrigation Rate of your property.
This app provides a way to easily calculate how well you irrigation is distributing water accross your lawn. You simply follow the instructions outlined below, input the data collected into the DUCS tab up top, and the app will determine the health of your system. The results will then be emailed to you if you so choose.
This figure shows an irrigated area containing turf grass with good DU. The depth of irrigation is relatively even, and no plant is receiving significantly more or less than another. There is always some variation in an irrigation zone, and therefore it is impossible to have perfect uniformity.
This figure shows an irrigated area containing turf grass with poor DU. During the irrigation cycle, the area on the right receives sufficient amounts of water, while the area on the left does not.
